Diaper washer



S. J. KENT DIAPER WASHER May 23, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 16, 1965 INVENTR. SAW/U62 J, A/E/W' 6$ 5%/ ATTORNEY May 23, 1967 5, K T 3,320,779

DIAPER WASHER Filed July 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ]N V EN TOR.

., 54/ 405; J. KENT BY 6 Jfiw ATTORNEY- United States Patent 3,320,779 DIAPER WASHER Samuel J. Kent, 6432 Sunnyslope Ave., Van Nuys, Calif. 91401 Filed July 16, 1965, Ser. No. 472,481 2 Claims. (Cl. 6851) This invention relates to a diaper washer and has for an object to provide a machine adapted for easy and rapid installation in and removal from a toilet bowl, the water filling the bowl after flushing thereof being the medium in which the diapers are washed, one or more subsequent charges of flush water effecting rinsing of the diapers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a washing machine as above characterized that, during its washing cycle, circulates water in the bowl through the items being washed to cause dislodged matter and dirt to be drawn away into the bottom of the bowl out of further contact with said items.

A further object of the invention is to provide a washer as above indicated that agitates the items therein during the washing cycle to promote rapid and efiicient cleaning of said items.

This invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The above objects are realized in a washer structure that comprises a mounting frame that is removably mountable on the rim of a toilet bowl and which fixedly carries a washer bowl or container so that, at least, the lower portion of said washer bowl is immersed in the clean water that partly fills the toilet :bowl after flushing thereof. Said washer bowl is provided with openings that pass this water thereinto to wet the contents thereof. A prime mover, such as an electric motor, drives mechanism to reciprocate agitating means or other means for like purposes, to agitate the bowl contents. Said mechanism also operates a reciprocating pump that circulates water from the toilet bowl upwardly through and then outwardly from the washer bowl, while the contents of the latter bowl are being agitated, thereby effecting efiicient washing of said contents, especially if a suitable supply of soap chips or powder or detergent is added to the Water. One or more subsequent flushings of the toilet bowl while the washer is operating Will cause all wash water to be removed and effect efiicieut rinsing of the washer bowl contents.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description, which is based on the accompanying drawings. However, said drawings merely show, and the following description merely describes, one embodiment of the present invention, which is given b y way of illustration or example only.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is a transverse sectional view of a diaper washer according to the present invention and shown installed in a toilet bowl.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of said washer installed as in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a portion of said washer in another position of the operating mechanism thereof.

The toilet bowl 5 that is shown in the drawings is quite typical of such fixtures, the same being provided with a top oval rim 6 that ordinarily mounts a seat board, which 3,329,779 Patented May 23, 1967 is here omitted, a widened bowl area 7 below said rim, and a narrowed bowl area 8 therebeneath. The latter leads to drainage in the usual way.

According to the invention, the present washer comprises, generally, a spider-like frame 10 having demounting connection with the bowl rim 6, a washer bowl 1=1 fixedly carried by said frame and residing partly in the bowl area 7, at least the lower portion of said washer bowl preferably extending into the toilet bowl water, a prime mover 12 mounted on said frame 10, mechanism 13, driven by said prime mover, to operate means 14 to agitate the contents of the washer bowl 111, a pump 15 connected to the agitator means 14- to circulate the water in the toilet bowl upwardly through the contents of the washer bowl and back into the toilet bowl.

The term diapers hereinafter used in the specification and in the appended claims is intended as exemplary of items that may be washed in the present machine and is intended to include such items. The above generallydescribed machine may carry out a washing cycle with suitable soaps or detergents provided either in the water or sprinkled or poured over the diapers before the wash cycle has begun, or at any time thereafter. Flushing of the bowl 5 to remove matter dislodged from the diapers may :be resorted to during washing and then again to effect efiicient rinsing while the prime mover is in operation.

The frame 10 is shown as a spider having three mounting arms 20 that extend from a central part 21 and which have ends 22 that are adapted to rest upon the bowl rim 6. Hook bolts 23 extend through holes in such arm ends, engage beneath the inner edge of the bowl rim, have hooking engagement therewith, and are fastened by thumbor wing-nuts 24. Such or similar mounting means detachably mount said frame on the bowl 5 so that the part 21 of the spider is substantially centrally located in the bowl opening, as indicated in FIG. 3.

The washer bowl 11 may be advantageously made of plastic and is shown as formed of a bowl part 25 provided with openings 26 and a cover part 27 that is preferably transparent so visual inspection of the contents of the bowl part may be had at all times. An access door 27a is provided on said part 27.

The prime mover 12 is shown as an electric motor 28 that is mounted on a plate 29 secured to the mentioned central part 21 of the spider frame 20.

The washer bowl above described is fixedly secured to the spider frame 10 by an extension 20a of one of the arms 20, as can be seen in FIG. 2. More than one such extension 20a may be provided, if desired.

The mechanism 13 is shown as a pinion gear 30 on the output shaft of the motor 28, a larger and, therefore, slower gear 31 in driven engagement with said pinion gear, an endless cam groove 32 formed in a face of the gear 31, a cam follower 33, and a rod 34 on the end of which said follower is mounted and which is reciprocated during rotation of the gear 31 due to the oval form of the cam groove 32, as indicated by the two positions of said rod 34 in FIGS. 1 and 4. The rod is guided in a bearing or bushing 35 that extends between the plate 29 and the bowl cover 27. The above-described mechanism 13 is exemplary of similar means, such as cranks, that may be employed for reciprocating the rod 34. Cam means, as shown, provides for a more compact design and is, therefore, preferred.

The agitating means 14 is here shown as a member 36 vertically adjustably secured to the rod 34 and which has a bottom part 37 that alternately compresses and releases diapers in the bowl 11 as the rod 34 reciprocates. Such adjustment can be made according to the size of the load in said bowl. In this case, the agitation btained is in the form of a squeeze-and-release action hat promotes dislodgernent of solid matter from the dipers D. The member 36 is preferably resilient so as yield to the pressure engagement with the diapers.

The pump 15 is shown as a cylinder 38 that extends rom the lower end of the bowl part 25, afoot valve 39 mounted in a fitting 40 on the lower end of said cylinler, a plunger or piston 41 on the lower end of the rod '4 and reciprocatively engaged in the cylinder 38, and check valve 42, carried by said plunger, which opens nly on the down stroke of the rod 34. The pump hown is a displacement pump that on the up stroke lraws water from the bowl area 8 into the cylinder 38 vhile displacing water, held in check by the valve 42 .bove the piston 41, through passages 43 and into the vowl part 25 and, on the down stroke, closes the foot 'alve 39 so that water trapped thereby in the cylinder 18 flows past the valve 42 into the cylinder space, above be piston 41. The water thus discharged at each stroke nto the bowl part 25 washes or rinses through the ditpers and discharges back into the bowl through )penings 26.

The construction of the pump may be varied, since he same may be a conventional single-acting pump that :harges the cylinder 38 with water during one part of he plunger stroke and displaces the charge into the vasher bowl during the second part of the plunger stroke, )r any desirable equivalent of such a pump.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what s now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying )ut the invention, the construction is, of course, subject 0 modification without departing from the spirit and :cope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desired to 'estrict the invention to the particular form of construcion illustrated and described, but to cover all modificaions that may fall within the scope of the appended :laims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A diaper washer for mounting on the top rim of a toilet bowl so as to wash with the water residual in the bowl after the same has been flushed, said washer comprising:

(a) a mounting frame with portions adapted for demountable engagement with said bowl rim,

(b) a washer bowl having water-passing openings and fixedly carried by said frame to extend into the toilet bowl and partly into the water therein,

(0) a pump cylinder extending from the bottom of the washer bowl and provided with a foot check valve that opens to flow of water from the toilet bowl from beneath only,

(d) a rod extending through the washer bowl and into the pump cylinder,

(e) a plunger on said rod end operating in said cylinder and opening to flow from beneath only to displace water from said cylinder into the washer bowl, and

(f) means to reciprocate said rod to establish water circulation upwardly through said valve and outwardly through the holes in the washer bowl.

2. A diaper washer according to claim 1 in which diaper-compressing and -releasing means is provided on the portion of the rod that operates in the washer bowl.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 230,380 7/1880 Williams 6851 498,151 5/1893 Ash 6851 595,932 12/1897 Wright et a1. 6851 764,613 7/1904 Moreland 68-184 X 1,179,339 4/1916 Sessions 68'51 1,528,682 3/1925 Martin 6851 1,588,588 6/1926 Kleyn 68184 X 2,637,190 5/1953 Ferris 68--131 2,821,075 1/1958 Keedy 68--122 3,178,913 4/1965 Olson 68-43 X 3,269,156 8/1966 Chase 6843 X IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DIAPER WASHER FOR MOUNTING ON THE TOP RIM OF A TOILET BOWL SO AS TO WASH WITH THE WATER RESIDUAL IN THE BOWL AFTER THE SAME HAS BEEN FLUSHED, SAID WASHER COMPRISING: (A) A MOUNTING FRAME WITH PORTIONS ADAPTED FOR DEMOUNTABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BOWL RIM, (B) A WASHER BOWL HAVING WATER-PASSING OPENINGS AND FIXEDLY CARRIED BY SAID FRAME TO EXTEND INTO THE TOILET BOWL AND PARTLY INTO THE WATER THEREIN, (C) A PUMP CYLINDER EXTENDING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE WASHER BOWL AND PROVIDED WITH A FOOT CHECK VALVE THAT OPENS TO FLOW OF WATER FROM THE TOILET BOWL FROM BENEATH ONLY, (D) A ROD EXTENDING THROUGH THE WASHER BOWL AND INTO THE PUMP CYLINDER, (E) A PLUNGER ON SAID ROD END OPERATING IN SAID CYLINDER AND OPENING TO FLOW FROM BENEATH ONLY TO DISPLACE WATER FROM SAID CYLINDER INTO THE WASHER BOWL, AND (F) MEANS TO RECIPROCATE SAID ROD TO ESTABLISH WATER CIRCULATION UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID VALVE AND OUTWARDLY THROUGH THE HOLES IN THE WASHER BOWL. 